do art yourself
Richard Mutt was very subtle artist from Philadelphia (US) and he never really succeed as an artist. His ideas were so innovative for his environment and for his time that only few artists from Europe at the beginning of the 20th century were able to recognize the value and the vision of his work.
One of them was well known artist Marcel Duchamp from France, who was big artistic name at the time. They happen to meet for only few times, but the impact from Mr. Mutt was enormous.
The most known and at the same time the most unknown work by Mr. Mutt was the urinal, named Fountain, which he sent from Philadelphia to the big exhibition at the Grand Central Palace in 1917, organized by Society of independent artists. He had been in short contact with Duchamp four years before in Paris, just after the exhibition called "Armory show".
At the exhibition in Grand Central Palace there was a big argue about the urinal: is it the work of art or not? Marcel Duchamp exerts his influence for mr. Mutt but when the president of the Society demanded voting, the urinal was removed from the show. And it was the only removed object from this exhibition.
Duchamp later presented the Fountain as his work and also made few other "ready made-s" (this was Duchamp's term). Richard Mutt wasn't happy about this, but he somehow quietly approved this takeover. At that time he wasn't interested in "ready made" objects any more.
From that point on Richard Mutt focused his great imagination to the work, connected to the ethical questions (specially in artistic field) and to the questions connected to the peace, truth and relations between different people.
Richard Mutt organized people, mostly artists who were not satisfied with the gallery and art system and they had some kind of secret (or quiet) "academy". They used to talk and discussed but they never made any bigger event or action. R. Mutt never wrote any philosophic or other theoretical text- he use to say: "Why Socrates, Jesus or Budha never wrote anything?" What remained after him was few boxes of strange notes, most of them in Slovenian language (which was the language of his mother) and few sketches. He made also a few sculptures which he gave to the different younger friends from "Pennsilvania Museum and School of Industrial Art".
After his death few of his students (he always call them friends) established the Richard Mutt Agency as some kind of memorial. The ethical issues which took the most important place in his life are the core of the Agency.
One of them was well known artist Marcel Duchamp from France, who was big artistic name at the time. They happen to meet for only few times, but the impact from Mr. Mutt was enormous.
The most known and at the same time the most unknown work by Mr. Mutt was the urinal, named Fountain, which he sent from Philadelphia to the big exhibition at the Grand Central Palace in 1917, organized by Society of independent artists. He had been in short contact with Duchamp four years before in Paris, just after the exhibition called "Armory show".
At the exhibition in Grand Central Palace there was a big argue about the urinal: is it the work of art or not? Marcel Duchamp exerts his influence for mr. Mutt but when the president of the Society demanded voting, the urinal was removed from the show. And it was the only removed object from this exhibition.
Duchamp later presented the Fountain as his work and also made few other "ready made-s" (this was Duchamp's term). Richard Mutt wasn't happy about this, but he somehow quietly approved this takeover. At that time he wasn't interested in "ready made" objects any more.
From that point on Richard Mutt focused his great imagination to the work, connected to the ethical questions (specially in artistic field) and to the questions connected to the peace, truth and relations between different people.
Richard Mutt organized people, mostly artists who were not satisfied with the gallery and art system and they had some kind of secret (or quiet) "academy". They used to talk and discussed but they never made any bigger event or action. R. Mutt never wrote any philosophic or other theoretical text- he use to say: "Why Socrates, Jesus or Budha never wrote anything?" What remained after him was few boxes of strange notes, most of them in Slovenian language (which was the language of his mother) and few sketches. He made also a few sculptures which he gave to the different younger friends from "Pennsilvania Museum and School of Industrial Art".
After his death few of his students (he always call them friends) established the Richard Mutt Agency as some kind of memorial. The ethical issues which took the most important place in his life are the core of the Agency.